Untitled
by xPolarxWhitex
Summary: Jade, Emperor Revin's padawan, and her master land on a semifeudal, seminear future Japan to ensure that the three Jedi councils on the planet belong to the Empire, but find a murk with a bloody smell and a Jedi with ties to both Revin and Jade.


The door of our ship opened down, moving slowly toward the ground only a few short feet from where my master and I stood. I looked out at the strange new world, one that seemed oddly familiar and alien at the same time. Glancing up at my master—the greatest Emperor the Empire has ever known, the mighty Dark Lord Revin—and whispered, "Where are we?" My voice, with a heavy English accent, carried through the grove of trees we'd chosen to land in, echoing around every trunk and leaf.

My gnarled faced master looked down at me and smiled his usual, scornful smile. "This is the planet known as 'Earth'," he said, his own soft voice carrying around the clearing. "I heard that there were three Jedi councils here. We need to make sure they…_belong_ to the Empire."

_End of passion play, crumbling away,_

_I'm your source of self destruction,_

_Veins that pump with fear, sucking darkest clear,_

_Leading on your deaths' construction,_

I nodded, a small feral smile tugging at my lips. "Yes, master." I pulled my short saber to me and pulled on a dark cloak. We did not wish to be detected in the night by sight alone, so our clothes matched the darkness perfectly. Not that we wore different colors for the daylight either.

Stepping out onto the planet's surface, I could tell that it was not like the other Empire planets I had visited before: it was green, the air scented with cherry blossoms and flowers. The night sky was unmarred by clouds and flecked with the sickening beauty that was the stars and faraway galaxies. Tall trees rose out of the horizon and to our left and right, the grass under our feet was soft and lush.

The place was disgustingly clean.

_Taste me you will see,_

_More is all you need,_

_You're dedicated to,_

_How I'm killing you_

"Master," I whispered, my voice hoarse. "This place is not like our other planets."

"No," he answered, his tired eyes turned to me. "The Jedi here protect this fertile land with every ounce of their beings. There are not very many planets this…green." His face changed to that of disgust. "Our empire only allows them this one green sanctuary because there are not so many left."

I nodded, understanding, and we started off. My dark blue-green eyes had adjusted to the night's dim light, and I could see that the trees in the distance were cherry trees—a word popped into my head that I didn't recognize, but knew what it meant: "Sakura", cherry blossoms—that's where the sweet scent had come from.

_Needlework the way, never you betray,_

_Life of death becoming clearer,_

_Pain monopoly, ritual misery,_

_Chop your breakfast on a mirror,_

We had only gone several meters from our ship when a voice hailed us from the side. Cloaked in a fabric of darkness, reeking of blood, a murk stepped forward and smiled at us in complete contempt. His eyes darted from me to my master, then back. I barely suppressed a growl.

"Master…" I murmured.

"Shush, child." I nodded, stepping back behind him. "Good evening, murk. What do I owe this pleasure?"

The murk bowed low. "Good evening, my lord," he said smoothly. "I am a mercenary from these parts, and I've been hired to destroy all the Jedi in this area."

My master's brow twitched, a sign I recognized as his annoyance. "Who is your employer?" he said just as smoothly.

"Why, the great Emperor himself! Lord Revin!"

I jumped up. "Your employer is a fake!" I snarled before my master could stop me. Almost instantly, I could feel my master's displeasure with me.

For me, that is the worst punishment.

"Master…" I whispered, stepping back and falling to my knees. "Forgive me…"

He said nothing to me, only glared at the murk. "As displeased with you as I am, Jade," he said evenly. I winced at his words. "You are right." He turned back to the murk. "You're employer is a fake and I must ask you to stop what you are doing. Else wise I may have to kill you."

The murk sneered. "Who do you think you are?" he said. "My employer is a fake! HA! Haven't heard that one for a _long_ time!"

I jumped again, but held my tongue. My master turned and nodded. I stepped forward proudly and gave the murk a venomous look. "You are currently in the presences of his mightiness, Emperor Revin of the Sith!" I hissed darkly.

The murk stared at me in contempt. "And I'm supposed to believe a padawan?" he sneered.

"Yes," my master said, then grabbed the fool in a force choke. The man gasped, scrabbling at his throat to tear my master's choke off his windpipe, but alas: it was all in vain. Or, so I had thought.

_Master, Master,_

_where's the dreams that I've been after?_

_Master, Master,_

_You promised only lies,_

_Laughter, Laughter,_

_all I hear or see is laughter,_

_Laughter, Laughter,_

_laughing at my cries_

With a superior smirk, my master slammed the fool into the ground, then gestured me forward with his sly smile. I nodded, smirking back, and approached the murk.

"Do you take back your accusations now, murk?" I sneered. He gasped at me for a moment, then snarled.

"You are a disgrace to the Empire!"

I snarled back, kicking his gut. "How dare you speak to our Emperor like that?"

"Gentle, Jade," my master murmured. Slowly, he stepped forward, but before he could say another thing, a different voice hailed us.

_Hell is worth all that, natural habitat,_

_Just a rhyme without a reason,_

_Neverending maze, drift on numbered days,_

_Now your life is out of season,_

"Leave the murk alone!" I turned around slowly, eyeing the man now before us. His raven black hair—so much like my own—fell around his slender face like a cascade of power. His eyes—dark blue-green like my own—glared at me, backing down not once. He wore clothes the complete opposite of my own, blinding white, as if he wanted everyone on the planet to know who he was, and that he was a Jedi.

My hand twitched toward my saber, but my master glared at me. Subdued, I stepped behind him, keeping an eye on the murk now at my master's back.

"Greetings, lone Jedi," my master acknowledged, smiling crookedly, a gleam in his eye that told me he was planning something…wicked.

'_Jade…Jade…Jade…_'

The voice was in my head! And it was not my master's voice! Growling, I turned to the murk, but he was frowning at a spot of blood on his jerkin. Whirling around to face the Jedi, I was shocked to see him staring right at me.

'_You…!_' I snarled back, bristling in anger. '_Get out of my mind!_'

_I will occupy,_

_I will help you die,_

_I will run through you,_

_Now I rule you too_

A small smile tugged on his lips. '_Dear sister, do you not recognize me?_'

…sister? I shook my head and eyed him suspiciously. He was smiling!

'_What do you mean…?_' I asked, hardly believing a word he was saying. My master was now trading glances between the two of us, not looking pleased. I frowned and shrugged at him, but did not break eye contact with the Jedi.

"Didn't father tell you?" he asked, his tenor voice holding an amused note.

"I don't have a father!" I snarled, my hand twitching toward my saber again.

_Come crawling faster,_

_Obey your master,_

_Your life burns faster,_

_Obey your master,_

_Master_

"No," my master said thickly, giving the Jedi a look, "and I hadn't intended to until my deathbed."

The Jedi smirked. "Really, father?" he asked. "It has been years since you've appeared before us, but does that really mean you have to act like a complete alien?"

Master snarled at him, a sound I had not heard since before I can remember. I stepped back, forgetting that I was supposed to be watching the murk.

That small task proved to be fatal, and I damn myself to this day for it.

_Master of Puppets I'm pulling your strings,_

_Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams,_

_Blinded by me, you can't see a thing,_

_Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream,_

_Master, Master,_

_Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream,_

_Master, Master_

_"Master of Puppets" _©Copyright Metallica


End file.
